Three new Skillsfuture Earn and Learn Programmes (ELP) for seafaring deck officers, marine engineers and port operations officers have been launched in the maritime industry. The programmes were announced on 24 June 2016 by Senior Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo at the Day of the Seafarer 2016 celebrations held at PSA Building.
The programmes were jointly developed by the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Singapore Workforce Development Agency and Singapore Polytechnic.
According to MPA, the programmes aim to give fresh local polytechnic graduates a head start in their maritime careers, deepen their skills through facilitated training, in-house structured programmes and mentorship.
ELP Trainees
The maritime Skillsfuture ELP trainees must go through a 12-month work-study programme. Deck officer and maritime engineer trainees will be awarded a Letter of Eligibility upon completion of the ELP, while port operation officer trainees will be given a specialist diploma in port management and operations.
Currently, there are 30 trainees in the inaugural batch who started on the programme in early June.
Maritime Union’s Take
Captain Robin Foo, president of the Singapore Maritime Officers Union praised the ELP initiative, saying that it encourages seafarers to progress in their maritime careers and helps attract young Singaporeans into the industry.
“My union championed ground-breaking training programmes such as the Tripartite Nautical Training Award and the Tripartite Engineering Training Award with our partners to attract the younger generation to choose a seafaring career … With such strong support, our Singaporean seafarers can have a better career, better wages and lead better lives,” said Captain Foo.
Source: NTUC This Week
